


Rent A Fish

by OnlyOneMe



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Multi, Sex Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 00:19:56
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,185
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14659263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyOneMe/pseuds/OnlyOneMe
Summary: Due to a clerical error, Eridan's inheritance money has been cut off and he's been forced to get a job for the first time in his life. After a couple of months, he's run late on paying rent, so he needs to find a supplemental source of income...





	1. A New Opportunity

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting a fanfiction, so please comment and let me know how/where I can improve or if there is something in particular that you like so I can make more content in that direction! Thank you so much in advance and I hope you enjoy.

After yet another long night at his piss-poor excuse of a job, Eridan unlocked his apartment front door. He leaned his head against the door and closed his eyes, praying for what felt like the fiftieth time that day to a deity he didn’t believe in for his miserable life to come to an end. A minute passed and he grit his teeth at the reality that his continuing to live meant another dinner of either canned soup or gas station sushi.

As he set his keys on the kitchen table, his one item of furniture besides his chair and bed, Eridan sat down and held his head in his hands. “Howw did it come to this”, he thought aloud. ‘“Just twwo months ago, I had my owwn loft, ate wwell for evvery meal,” he whined. “Of all times to cut off an inheritance, the bank just had to do it wwhen I wwas betwween jobs an Cro wwas out of towwn on tour.”

He flipped through yesterday’s mail that was scattered on the table when a bright red “Overdue” notice caught his eye. Scrambling to open the letter, he franticly repeated, “Please don’t be rent, please don’t be rent…” The letter fell open, and, lo and behold, his rent was a week past due. His heart sank faster than a boat in the Bermuda Triangle. His next paycheck wasn’t coming in for another couple of days and he’d already sold most of his belongings, so Eridan didn’t know where he was going to get the money.

To distract himself, he pulled out his phone and started scrolling Bublr. He mostly used it to keep up with his friends’ shenanigans, but tonight his feed seemed mostly filled with low-blooded porn bots. Rolling his eyes, he decided to read the blog names out loud to see if any of them were even interesting. One particular blog handle caught his eye, TwiinArmageddon2. Eridan squinted, recognizing whose blog it was, “Sol? You filthy, loww-blooded scum…” Against his own better judgement, Eridan clicked the link and found himself on Sollux’s porn blog.

As he began to scroll, he realized that Sollux actually had good taste in pornography, which was really saying something for the introverted gold-blood. There were multiple poses, most castes were represented (except for seadwellers), and all of the action seemed genuine instead of scripted. Finding himself enjoying the pictures and gifs, Eridan was surprised when he found a text post calling for fresh material. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be a paid gig. He hesitated, wondering if he, a member of the royal violet caste, could even lower himself to do this kind of work, but his overdue rent bill won out and he found himself following a link to an application page.

The application itself wasn’t difficult, asking for the basics but leaving out the usual name line. Instead, it asked for a stage or camera name, which Eridan thought was actually quite considerate. After a brief consideration, he just wrote down “Prince Fins”. He figured that the name was vague enough to not give away his real identity, but still marked him as a seadweller, which seemed to make him unique on this particular blog. As he was about to submit the application, he noted a paragraph that mentioned that interviews for successful candidates would be set up via email and conducted in person. Eridan wrote himself a reminder in his phone to check his email tomorrow and sent in the application, his collapsing and expanding bladder based aquatic vascular system pumping furiously for the ten minutes that followed.

“Did I really just apply to wwork for Sol as a cam troll” he jokingly asked himself. “This is the wworst fevver dream I’vve had yet since I started this carp-y job. I really need to get some sleep.” So, without having had any dinner and his empty stomach growling angrily, Eridan moved the few feet to his bed and layed down. After all, he had work to do tomorrow.


	2. Busy Bee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sollux receives an application for a Bubblr page that he runs. The applicant makes him think of Eridan, digging up an old pitch-crush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! I'm so excited to have you all here enjoying my writings! I hope to keep updates consistent since I'm out of class for the summer. Check back soon for chapter 3!

The steady clacking of keys rang throughout Sollux’s room, despite it being past two in the afternoon. His husktop was the only provider of light, though there wasn’t much else to look at besides the piles of empty chip bags and energygrub cans. Sollux wasn’t concerned about the garbage though, as he was busy updating his various internet presences in between coding jobs. While he was reading through his emails, more like skimming, one email caught his eye. 

“Finally! Thii2 ii2 the fiir2t appliicatiion iin week2!” He read through it carefully, checking every detail. “A 2eadweller? That’2 rare,” he mused aloud, “And a male at that.” When he was finished reading the application, Sollux was interested enough to interview the troll, so he sent a reply email, asking the troll if an interview in the next few days was possible. He also sent the usual reminder that all interview details were confidential and should not be shared for the safety of the individuals involved. The interview itself would be held privately in a communal office space that had smaller meeting rooms for rent. 

Once he sent the email regarding the interview, he leaned back in his swivel chair and closed his eyes, listening to the soft buzzing of the sleeping workers in the multiple beehouse mainframes around him. The sound soothed his busy mind and, for once, he was ready to go to sleep before three in the afternoon. Opening his eyes, he stood and tossed his clothes off to the side in yet another pile of dirty laundry before climbing into the blue side of his recuperacoon. Sollux let himself submerge up to his chin and relax into the blue sopor, thoughts of the enticing and mysterious violetblood leading him into sleep. 

That day, Sollux dreamed of finally accepting a hate date from his constant pitch suitor, Eridan Ampora. The guy was annoying, but his pompous attitude was part of what Sollux hated about him. The only reason Sollux had rejected Eridan’s previous advances was because Eridan was desperate. Sollux hated feeling like a last resort, so he’d vowed to himself to hold out on accepting Eridan’s offer until Eridan had at least found one other quadrantmate. 

The issue with that lay in the fact that Eridan had essentially dropped off of the grid about two months ago. The only interaction Sollux received from him was the occasional like on a Bublr post. Other than that, radio silence. To be honest, Sollux was starting to get a little worried about Eridan. He kind of missed the whiny texts begging him to go on extraordinary dates with the fishface of his dreams. 

Sollux’s unconscious concern for his pitch crush woke him only a couple hours after he’d managed to fall asleep. He looked over at the clock and facepalmed, “Fuck, even when he2 not con2tantly textiing me, he 2tiill manage2 two keep me from 2leepiing.” Begrudgingly, he pulled himself out of his recouperacoon and went to shower off any lingering sopor, knowing he wasn’t going to be able to fall back asleep that day.


End file.
